Ark House Vets in Leighton Buzzard has joined forces with a local estate agent and a church to help look after the health of their community.

The three organisations, supported by their local council, have worked together to install a new defibrillator. The machine is designed to be used by someone, in an emergency, with no medical training to deliver an electric current to restart the heart when someone is in cardiac arrest. It has an in-built speaker that gives step-by-step instructions on how to use it.

The defibrillator has been registered with the Community Heartbeat Trust so that 999 emergency operators can let callers know it’s there when needed and three local businesses that arranged to have it installed with cover the costs of its maintenance going forward.

Kate Semple, Clinical Director of Ark House Vets said: “We have been caring for pets in this community for over 25 years and were very excited to be given the chance to extend that caring to the human community too.

“We are absolutely delighted to collaborate with our neighbours in Leighton Buzzard to contribute a life saving device to what is a wonderful local community.”